“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

Twitter and The Travel Industry

Social media is booming. It can help to get your name out to the public and potentially gain clients or find a job (lets hope!). It is interesting to look at how different industries embrace social media and if they are even using twitter. The travel industry has a very high level of engagement on twitter.

I feel this is a excellent thing. There are millions of people on twitter that, if they really want to find your company and the most up to date information on that company, many people turn to twitter. According to an article, there are three categories that companies will be put into when they use twitter. These categories are:

• Community engagement and customer service
• Broadcast channels for news, articles, and information
• Dedicated sales channel

Travel companies fall into the broadcast channels for news, articles and information. However, there are companies that branch off and reach into all three categories. For example @jetblue does not just have a twitter for their actual company but they have @jetbluecheeps which gives discounted fares. Some companies use this as an extension to their campaigns and marketing strategies that are already taking place. There is a twitter account for the traveling gnome as an extension to Travelocitys Traveling Gnome marketing strategy.

The importance of a presence on twitter can not be underestimated. It can provide breaking news and many people turn to this for their breaking news. There was a journalist who was tweeting the whole time what was going on in a trial of the Cheshire Home Invasion, so people were really getting breaking news before any newspaper articles were written.

Twitter is not just for the major companies or travel destinations. Travel destinations on twitter can range from popular world destinations to the local park or beach. Locally, there is a twitter account for @cityofnewarknj.

Finally, any company should note that using social media, not just twitter, can help to amplify the voice and exposure of people or organizations who would normally only have a small reach. Personally, after searching and using twitter I found many travel bloggers that I now follow. It doesn't just give me information about destinations but it helps to inspire me because traveling is my passion and I wish to incorporate that in my future career path. (Which is 3 weeks away yikes!)

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller

Creative Story Ideas by One NYC PR Firm

With a fast paced world all around us, the media are always looking for new and creative ideas to run. This comes as a challenge to many PR firms that have to come up with new initiative ideas to pitch to the media and their clients.

Travel PR firm Abelow PR, wrote a blog entry on what they are doing to attract the press for their travel clients. For example, one idea that they had come up with for their client Asia Transpacific Journeys was "Amazing Animal Adventures" to help pitch their tours to Boreno, Australia and Indonesia.

Some of the names that they had come up with were "The Wild Jungles of Borneo," "In Search of the Komodo Dragon and journeys to the wildlife hotspots down under. These had great appeal to their audience and allowed Abelow PR pitching opportunities.

Read their original blog here: How Travel PR Firms Come Up With Creative Story Ideas or go to their website and find out more creative ideas!

Top 5 Beer Towns in U.S.

This entry is for all the beer lovers out there. I am a bartender, so I thought, why not write a blog entry about the Top 5 Beer Towns in the United States. I thought this may cause some searching and coming up with my own list. But wouldn’t you know it? There was already a list put together by Men’s Journal. So here are the Top 5 Beer Towns according to them.


1. San Diego

This is the new beer capital of the U.S. Stone (the maker of their number one ale). They have a variety of beers across the city that makes it the most eclectic in the country.

Beer Culture: There are 33 breweries. If you go to any of them, you are most likely to find the brew master on hand ready to talk with you.

Best Brew: Alpine Ale, Lost Abbey Duck-Duck-Gooze

2. New York City

NYC is home to more young drinkers than any other city in this country. This makes it the greatest beer-bar scene in the U.S. There are more than 20,000 bars and restaurants that operate within the five boroughs.

Beer Culture: There is one place, the Blind Tiger, that lets brew masters from around the world use its taps t o pour their own creations.

Best Brews: Captains Reserve Imperial IPA, Brooklyn Intensified Coffee stout

3. Portland

The Rose City’s festivals and a new vanguard of innovators help this city remain popular.

Beer Culture: There are two festivals that rival any in the world. The America’s first organic beer festival and the OBF, a huge outdoor summer event along the waterfront.

Best Brews: Hopworks Urban Crosstown Pale, Deschutes Hop Trip

4. Philadelphia

There are a huge crop of emerging microbreweries, an upsurge in beer-focused events, and a strong brewing tradition dating to before founding beer godfather Ben Franklin and the Revolutionary War.

Beer Culture: Within a 80-mile radius of the city center, there are three breweries that cook up creatively hooped pilsners and experimental pale ales that are pushing the limits of traditionally mild styles.

Best Brews: Stoudt’s Pils, Victory Storm King Stout

5. Chicago

It has become the epicenter of the Midwest’s micro brewing revolution, most bars stack the chalkboard tap list with craft beers brewed an L ride away.

Beer Culture: There is more than 20 breweries and brewpubs, many that are award winning.

Best Brews: Goose Island Matilda, Two Brothers Cane and Ebel Red Rye

Travel for Dummies

There are Public Relations firms specializing in travel and promoting destinations. There are travel agencies that help you to book a vacation. But who is there to help you once you get to a destination. That is where for some, group tour and tour guides come into play, for others they purchase a travel book beforehand. There is one brand that doesn’t just talk about travel but has a book for almost everything you can imagine. These books are called For Dummies. So obviously, the book I will talk about is Travel: For Dummies. They don’t just have a book about travel; they have a book for different destinations. There are ones for Italy, Alaska, Maui, Europe, New York City and basically any place you would want to travel to they will have something for you.

When I was going to study abroad, I was given Italy for Dummies. I am assuming that all of the travel books are alike. In this book they have Italy broken down into the sections in which you would be traveling. Such as Rome, Florence, Tuscany, the South, and Naples. Within the book it details itineraries that will show you the highlights whether your vacation lasts for one week or more, it will also highlight historical spots and spots if you are traveling with children. My favorite part of the book was hands down the food part. There is an entire section about where the best places in town are and where you can find the best wine. It will steer you in the right direction to the great culinary. I would not recommend walking around with this bright yellow book open. You will be singled out as a tourist. But it is definitely a handy book to have while you are traveling and to look out to plan out your day while traveling.

However, although these books are great, spend one day traveling amlosly. Get lost and find a small little joint in whatever town you are in. These are often the best joints. The ones without a name on the front and family owned. I personally believe the best way to travel is to get lost. Happy Travels!

The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. ~G.K. Chesterton

Social Media and Go Green Advice by Pilmer PR

Although this is not directly related to Travel Public Relations I thought it was an interesting video to post. It was created by Pilmer PR. Pilmer PR provides public relations and marketing communications campaigns for small to mid-size businesses. I came upon this company while looking at green public relations practices. Pilmer was mentioned in Forbes 10 Ways To Go Green and Stay Cost Competitive. Here is the except about them from this list:

Public Relations: Let Employees Telecommute

PilmerPR, an Orem, Utah-based public relations firm, has always encouraged its team to telecommute rather than waste fuel driving to and from work. In 2004, the company began tracking the amount of gas saved by working from home--some 3,000 gallons per year, or $50,000 at $3.30 per gallon. With just enough office space for a few administrative positions, the company is able to keep its prices within range of its competitors, charging $2,000 to $10,000 per month depending on the scope of services, including media pitching, Web design, executive media training and search engine optimization.

It's Awards Season

It’s Awards season! Well, it was awards season back in February and March but better late to talk about it than never. Through my searching, I found out about The Travel Marketing Awards.

These awards were made to recognize, award and spotlight the best and most creative work across the travel sector. They are split up into three categories. These categories are: marketing, advertising and campaigns of the year. The awards are held in March every year and the voting begins in September. This past year they were held at Intercontinental London Park Lane. 370 senior agency, tourism and travel professionals attended this event. There were 28 awards given out all together this past year.

They have awards ranging from the best direct marketing (mail, email or multi media), social media, PR Tactical Campaign (overseas, domestic) to the best travel brand of the decade. These awards are split up into bronze, silver and gold awards. On their website you can see a complete list of how the awards are broken down and who has won these awards in the past three years. Explore the website and find out who was the best of the best for 2011!